Well well well. I know this isnt about the bedroom tax (though Im looking up about this too) but it seems my local council has a lot of sense
Just been looking on their site for the proposals for the new council tax benefit (that people on benefits might have to pay up to 20% of their council tax bill) and it appears they have found a way to manage despite the government cutting their budget and trying to make them get poor people to pay more.
http://www.durham.gov.uk/Pages/Servi...ServiceId=8964
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If the council chooses to apply the reduction, then the rest of the claimants who are of working age would need to pay more to make up the reduction in the council’s income. This would mean they would need to start paying around 20 per cent of their Council Tax. Given that the majority of working age people receiving Council Tax Benefit are not in employment or are in low paid work, they will have to meet this from extremely limited budgets.
On the other hand, if the council choose to remove the discretionary Council Tax discounts currently available to owners of certain categories of empty properties, the council would have an additional source of income which could offset the loss in grant.
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Durham County Council is aware of the very difficult economic situation faced by many of our households across the county. If we passed on the reduction in Council Tax support to these working age householders, it could significantly add to the problems they face.
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I really hope other councils follow this example instead of going for the easy option of adding the extra cost to the most vulnerable.